This invention relates to animal grooming aids, specifically to an absorbent ventilated bag for drying a small animal after bathing.
It is common practice to periodically bathe small companion animals such as domestic ferrets, cats, and rabbits that are kept as pets or for showing. The choices available for drying an animal after its bath have been: (1) to let the animal air-dry without intervention by humans, (2) to rub down the animal with a towel or cloth, or (3) to use an electric forced-air hair-drying apparatus. All of these options have serious disadvantages when used on small animals that can be very active, excitable, and difficult to hold.
Small mammals such as domestic ferrets, cats, and rabbits typically have dense fur that retains a large quantity of water after bathing. They also have a relatively small body mass in relation to their surface area. Therefore, they can easily become chilled or hypothermic if left wet for an extended period of time, as when left to air-dry on their own. (Small mammals that are adapted to water, such as otters, have specialized fur that retains an insulating layer of air next to their skin, preventing hypothermia. The domesticated small mammals usually kept as pets do not possess such fur.)
Probably the most common method of drying a small animal is using a towel or cloth. This is often very difficult because the animal usually does not want to hold still after becoming wet. A struggling animal is hard to control for long enough to effectively dry with a towel, and it is possible that the animal""s claws will scratch the person.
Ferrets become extremely active after bathing, presumably as a survival mechanism to help them raise their body temperature and thereby avoid hypothermia. A wet ferret will frantically run around, shake itself, and rub against and deposit water on everything it contacts, which could be the carpet, furniture, drapes, or its owner""s pant leg. And leaving the animal to dry in a confined area such as its cage is a poor choice. It will get its bedding wet, and the limited space for exercise will increase the risk of hypothermia if the ambient temperature is cool.
And finally, the method of drying these small animals by the use of an electric hair dryer has multiple disadvantages. (1) It is very noisy, which can badly frighten a small mammal. (2) It is difficult to get the animal to hold still during the process of blowing the hot air on its fur. And (3) if the animal is confined to a drying cage or enclosure it can be dangerous for the animal. Due to their small mass, these animals will get overheated very quickly in such an environment once the fur has dried. Enclosed electric pet hair drying apparatuses were generally developed for use on dogs, which are capable of cooling their bodies more efficiently through panting than can the fur-bearing small companion animals.
The present invention is directed to a small animal drying bag comprising an absorbent fabric bag for containing the small animal, a ventilating system for admitting air into the interior of said bag, and a closing device for closing said bag and holding the bag closed.
The drying bag is useful to safely confine a small animal after the animal is bathed; to absorb excess water from the fur of the animal through passive contact between the bag of the present invention and the fur while the animal is confined within the bag; to absorb excess water when the animal""s fur is rubbed, or toweled, with the drying bag of the present invention while the animal is confined within the bag; to keep the animal from escaping the toweling while it is confined within the bag; to reduce the likelihood of the human getting scratched while drying the animal; to reduce the likelihood of said human being excessively wetted by water flung from or dripping from the fur of the animal, or by direct contact with the wet fur of the animal; to prevent the animal from running around freely and thereby wetting objects in the area such as furnishings; to prevent the animal from becoming chilled while it is drying, while at the same time providing adequate ventilation: thus the absorbent fabric and the netting work synergistically, the ventilation netting allowing the animal to stay inside of the drying bag long enough for the excess water to be absorbed from the animal""s fur; and to provide a hiding place or retreat for the animal, thereby helping to foster a feeling of safety and security, which may be especially important when bathing cats or rabbits, who generally do not like getting wet and can get very upset by the process of bathing.